NEW YORK – A mass shooting in Jamaica, Queens left 10 teenagers hurt when police say several suspects opened fire outside a venue.
It happened just after 11:15 p.m. on New Year’s Day outside the Amazura Concert Hall on 144th Place.
Police are now searching for four male suspects who fired into a crowd of about 15 people standing outside the event space.
Mass shooting outside Amazura Concert Hall
According to police, about 90 people were inside at a private event space upstairs. The venue was at capacity, and a line of about 15 people were waiting outside.
Police say that’s when four men walking down 91st Avenue approached the crowd and fired about 30 rounds. They then ran toward 143rd Place, where they got in a light colored sedan with out-of-state plates.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards called the shooting a “life-changing ordeal” and shared his thoughts for those impacted.
“Ten families woke up this morning to some of the most devastating news one could imagine receiving — their loved one had been shot. My thoughts are with the victims and all those impacted as they navigate this life-changing ordeal, and I’m relieved that seemingly no lives will be lost due to this despicable shooting,” Richards said in a statement. “I have been in constant communication with law enforcement, and while it does not appear this incident has a Queens nexus, under no circumstance will we allow any example of gun violence in our borough to go unpunished. I’m confident that those who perpetrated this heinous act will be arrested and held accountable for their actions.”
Victims of Queens shooting
The street was crowded with ambulances waiting to rush the victims to local hospitals. They range in age from 16 to 19 years old and are all expected to survive their injuries.
“Officers responded to the multiple 911 calls and found a total of 10 victims — six females, four males — who were taken to area hospitals. All of the victims are expected to recover with non-life-threatening injuries,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera told reporters overnight.
Six of the victims were taken to the Jamaica Hospital Trauma Center with injuries ranging from gunshot wounds to the leg, foot, arm and buttocks, to graze wounds to the back. The other four are being treated at New York-Presbyterian Queens, Long Island Jewish Medical Center and Cohen Children’s Medical Center.
Police say they are also actively canvassing local medical centers for any unaccounted for gunshot victims related to this incident.
Investigators say the public has been instrumental in helping them solve high-profile crimes in recent weeks, and they hope the public will once again help them catch the suspects in this case.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via their website. All calls are kept confidential.
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